How to find lost pensions, bank accounts and savings

Most people change jobs several times, and every job usually leaves a pension behind. Add bank accounts opened as a student, Premium Bonds bought by a grandparent and savings accounts from a previous address, and it is easy to lose track of money that is still yours. This guide explains the free services that find it and what to do with several small pension pots once you have them. Pension content is information only, not personal advice.

Pensions: the Pension Tracing Service

The government's Pension Tracing Service holds contact details for workplace and personal pension schemes. It does not tell you whether you have money in a scheme, only how to contact the scheme so you can ask.

1. List every employer you have worked for since around 1988, when personal pensions started, with rough dates.
2. Search each one at gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details.
3. Write to the scheme with your name, date of birth, National Insurance number, previous addresses and the dates you worked there.
4. Ask for a current valuation and a statement of how the pension is invested.

If a former employer has closed, the scheme may have been taken into the Pension Protection Fund or transferred to an insurer. The tracing service usually still shows a contact.

Old paperwork helps. A single payslip or P60 showing pension deductions confirms which scheme you were in.

Bank and building society accounts: My Lost Account

My Lost Account is a joint free service from UK Finance, the Building Societies Association and NS&I. You complete one form and it is sent to the relevant banks and building societies, who check their dormant account records.

• It covers current accounts, savings accounts and accounts at building societies that have since merged or been taken over.
• You need your name, previous addresses and, ideally, the name of the bank.
• Replies can take up to three months.

Accounts dormant for 15 years may have had their balance transferred to the Dormant Assets Scheme. The money is still yours and can be reclaimed at any time through the same route.

NS&I: Premium Bonds and old certificates

NS&I runs its own tracing service at nsandi.com. It covers Premium Bonds, Savings Certificates, Income Bonds and older products. If you think you or a child once held Premium Bonds, this is where to look. Unclaimed prizes have no time limit, and each £1 bond still enters every monthly draw.

The Pensions Dashboards

Pensions Dashboards are an online service that will show all your pensions, including the State Pension, in one place. Pension schemes have been connecting to the system in stages, with the last due to connect by the end of October 2026. The government has not yet confirmed when the public will be able to log in. Until then, the Pension Tracing Service is the route. Check MoneyHelper for the current position.

What to do with several small pots

Once you have found them, you may have four or five pots of a few thousand pounds each. Options include:

• Leave them where they are. Check the charges and the fund. Some old schemes have valuable guarantees, such as a guaranteed annuity rate, that are lost on transfer.
• Combine them into one scheme. This makes them easier to manage and can reduce charges. Most modern schemes accept transfers in for free. Ask about exit fees before moving.
• Wait. The government plans to consolidate small pots automatically in future, but the system is not in place yet.

Do not transfer a defined benefit (final salary) pension without regulated advice, which is required by law for pots over £30,000.

Watch out for

• Claims firms and "pension release" companies that charge a fee or a percentage. Every service above is free.
• Cold calls about pensions. These have been illegal since 2019. Hang up.
• Providers that cannot find you because your name changed. Give every name you have used.
• Pension pots where you were not enrolled because you earned under £10,000 or were under 22. There may be nothing to find for those jobs.